Last Updated on 3 years ago by Charbel Coorey

Cricket News: Faf du Plessis on David Warner: He’s a bully | Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis shares thoughts on David Warner

Former South African skipper Faf du Plessis has termed Australian opener David Warner as a bully in a recent interview with BBC.

Speaking on the infamous South Africa-Australia series of 2018, du Plessis sympathised with the duo of Cameron Bancroft and Steven Smith who were considered to be the architects of the sandpaper gate scandal. However, he did not hold back his words with regards to Warner, possibly due to the southpaw’s nasty skirmish with wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock in the first match of that series in Durban.

Both de Kock and Warner were engaged in a fierce altercation on the field during that game. However, the argument continued on to the dressing room with players from both the teams trying to cool down the tempers during one of the session breaks. Du Plessis, too, had emerged in that incident in an attempt to douse the fire.

Now, he has hit out at Warner for bullying the Proteas throughout that match as he spoke to BBC to promote his recently launched autobiography named ‘Faf: Through Fire’.

Warner was a bully. I don’t have time for bullies – Faf du Plessis

“Australia wanted to bully us. We had to stand up for ourselves. They abused us that whole game but the way we fought back turned the series around,” the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper said, as reported by Fox News. He added, “He (Warner) was a bully. I don’t have time for bullies.”

From his comments, it appears that du Plessis was critical of Warner’s sledging and not exactly of his role in the entire sandpaper-gate incident. The ex-Protea captain acknowledged his own involvement in ball-tampering cases previously. In 2013, he was found guilty of tweaking the condition of the ball with the zipper of his trousers in a Test against Pakistan. In 2016, he was seen applying saliva from a mint on the red cherry in a match against Australia itself.

Du Plessis admitted that he is not a perfect individual. “I’m not perfect. I’ve never claimed to be. I’ve never been the most talented player. Yes, I have talent, but it’s hard work and mental toughness that got me to where I am,” the ex-Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star commented.